DOES VAMPIRE DIARIES STILL WORK AFTER SEVEN SEASONS?

***This blog post contains spoilers. If you haven’t finished season seven, continue at your own risk.***

Hi there! Just finished season seven of Vampire Diaries. Not sure what to think. I knew the show would struggle after Nina Dobrev exited the show. The show was so centrally built around the three main characters Elena, Stefan and Damon. After it was announced that Elena would not be returning, I wondered how they would continue show. For several season I was really missing the original premise of the first two years.

I really liked the story of ordinary high school students confronted by the paranormal world of vampires, werewolves and witches. There were very nice touches of small town life. Miss mystic falls, the party in the woods before school starts, Stefan and Elena’s diary, football games and cheerleading. Then there was the love triangle between Elena, Stefan and Damon. The good vampire, Stefan, struggling with his dark side. The bad vampire, Damon, struggling with his good side. Elena, although always standing by Stefan, feeling torn between the two brothers. In short, the show was a perfect blend between the troubles of teenage life and the supernatural.

Once Elena turned into a vampire, the story seemed to lose focus on the human teenager aspect and drifted more into a pure supernatural show. It lost some of its charm and emotional impact. I began to lose interest. Although I am aware I am in the minority, I was never happy with the Damon and Elena relationship. Stefan was always the right choice for her as a human. Maybe as a vampire, Damon was a good choice. When she returned to human form, the show totally blew off the epic love story that was Stefan and Elena. It was a mere blip on the radar. Elena chose Damon like it wasn’t ever in question.

This season, I watched the show struggle with its future without Elena. Major plot lines ended too quickly. Their mother who’d just returned, was killed off too early. Stefan and Damon entered the phoenix stone and were released the next episode. Rayna Cruz enters the picture and then exits just as quickly leaving Bonnie cursed with the need to finish Ryana’s work. That plot line gets wrapped up very quickly as well. The switch between present day and three years from now occurred for no apparent reason. It was a very uneven season.

But there is hope. By the end of the seventh season, Damon and Enzo are engaged in a bad vampire killing spree. That is promising. Also, Damon heard Elena’s voice. Sure the scenes shown were old clips and her voice could have been pieced together from previous footage. Still, might they bring Elena back? Even if Elena never reappears, bad Damon is fun to watch and may breathe life into the show. So I’m in. I’ll watch the show next season and hope for the best.